Argument: Tim Wise, author of Between Barack and a Hard Place, argues that America is no where near a post-racial society. Whites still believe that African Americans aren't as smart as whites which is why they need to work twice as hard to get the same kind of recognition as whites. For example, in the interview, they mentioned that although George was not intelligent at all, because he was still white, he therefore was easily voted into office. However, with Barack Obama, he needed to be very successful and really show how intelligent he was in order to be taken seriously.
Another point that was brought up in this interview was the problem with many minority students living in the poorer schools with not as many opportunities as white schools. In the Brown v. Board of Education trial, African American students were no longer allowed to be segregated from whites in the public school system. Without even realizing it, that is exactly what is happening today, even though we consider ourselves a "post-racial society." We are obviously not putting these students here on purpose, it just has to do with the kinds of services that African Americans are allowed like the kinds of places they can afford to live and that "white privilage backpack" that whites always seem to be wearing.
In my opinion, it is unfortunate that this still goes on in our society. We like to think that we no longer discriminate against other races and that everyone is equal in our country, but unfortunately that is not the case. As a future teacher, I want every student to get the same opportunities as every other student and it's sad to think that depending on what school you go to or where you come from will determine your success. Especially since now I am in my service learning and I can see that all those kids deserve success and they are capable of it, but just because of where they come from and the school they go to, they won't be given the same opportunities.
I agree with your statement. If President Obama did not show the citizens of America how intelligent he truly is then he would have not been taken seriously in the 2008 presidential election. As for discrimination, it still occurs in America. The United States has come a long way, but we are by no means a perfect nation. Like you I want every child to have the same equal opportunities because they deserve it. However, it is based on race and social class. The children in my service learning are capable of doing anything. They are denied a good education because they live in a poor neighborhood and are not considered as smart as the upper class children. How do we know that these children are not capable of doing something if they are not given the same opportunities as upper class children? Isn’t it ironic that the children who go to these lower class schools are African American and Hispanic? I agree with what Bob Herbert stated in his article, “If you really want to improve the education of poor children, you have to get them away from learning environments that are smothered by poverty”.
ReplyDeleteObama still does not receive the respect he deserves with people like Donald Trump asking to see his birth certificate. We may have come a long way since the civil rights movement but, we still have a long way to go.
ReplyDeletei agree with jess; its really sad that even though this world has fought through issues between african americans and their rights as citizens, our country is still in awe about the fact that we, as a country, voted in an african american president. he deserve much more than he receives, and hopefully over time our country with come to realize that and do something to change it!
ReplyDelete